Coventry, Greene also open to drilling business

COVENTRY – Coventry and Greene joined a growing list of townships in Chenango County that say they are open for natural gas development.

At a meeting Friday night, members of the Coventry Town Board voted 4 to 1 to put their confidence in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s ability to harvest their shale gas resources in a safe manner. The resolution adopted was the same one being offered by the Central New York Landowners Coalition and adopted by the towns of Bainbridge, Guilford and Afton over the last two weeks. Preston adopted its own pro-drilling resolution.

In Greene, Supervisor Jack Cook wrote a letter to DEC officials and state representatives expressing similar sentiment, saying the town board would accept the DEC’s permitting regulations when and if they are completed. “We feel that the permitting process should be left up to the individual property owner whether they want drilling or not,” stated the July 13 letter.